How effective are taxes?

Question

To narrow it down, how effective is taxation as a government measure of solving environmental problems?

Answer 1

well considering taxes pay for clean up of parks and recreation areas, enforcement of environmental laws, subsidizing farmers to set aside land in conservation programs, and upkeep and protection of federal lands, i would guess they are very effective.

Answer 2

In many cases taxes are not very effective in enabling a government to solve environmental (or most other) problems.

A basic reason for this is that governments tend to be bureaucratic and, as a result, ineffective and inefficient. Government employees have little regard for efficiency. They tend to view tax revenues as a "renewable" resource. If they need more money, they just dip into the till and take it.

How many times have you seen a government, even at the state or local level, bring a project in on budget? It happens every now and then, but it's very rare.

One reason for governmental inefficiency is lobbyists. These guys all but camp out in the halls outside the offices of bureaucrats and elected officials. They are paid by, and are responsible to, special interests, and, unlike governments, are very efficient and effective. Much of the legislation at state and local levels are actually written by the lobbyists. As most of our elected Representatives never read a bill they will need to vote on, it's easy for the lobbyists to "slip" a few things by them.

Look at a what the government goes through to deal with an environmental problem. Let's use the Everglades restoration project as an example.

First, there are a lot of demands placed on the government by special interests. Cattlemen want their cows' poop to go into the water, and sugar farmers want their fertilizers to leak into streams, that flow into the Everglades.

Second, environmentalists have a stake in how the Everglades is going to be restored and they need to be consulted.

Third, fourth, fifth, etc.

The bottom line is that the bureaucrats who are overseeing the project know very little, if anything, about ecology. They don't know a frog from a toad, a *corn snake from a corn flake, or an ibis from an osprey.

Government protocols are much like employing a podiatris to deal with a heart problem.

Depressing, isn't it?

*Thanks, Preacher!

Answer 3

Raising taxes are rarely effective at changing behavior. People tend to find a way around the taxes rather than comply with the desired behavior. Lowering taxes for entities/individuals that implement energy efficiency and alternative energy measures is a more effective way to influence behavior. The carrot is more motivating to the horse than the stick. This same saying usually applies to human behavior.

Answer 4

depends on where you live